[UPDATED] The Guardian Launches a U.S. Homepage with a Special American U.R.L.

The Guardian has finally launched its anticipated American web site. Curiously, it did not use GuardianAmerica.com, the ill-fated U.R.L. from its previous venture on this side of the Atlantic (type that in and you just get U.S. news.) Nor has it simply done an automatic redirect to the U.S. page from Guardian.co.uk, which, when accessed from here, has indecipherable headlines about A-Levels and “football” players on its homepage.

Instead, those wanting news targeted to Americans must go to GuardianNews.com. Janine Gibson, editor-in-chief of Guardian U.S. (it’s not Guardian America, everybody) did not immediately respond to a question about the reasoning behind the decision, but she did post an official announcement, where she said “It’s just one page today, but we hope that by presenting a targeted homepage, we’ll be able to better display the stories that are most relevant to our U.S. readers.”

Ms. Gibson also announced that she would be hiring a “new U.S. team of writers, technologists and editors to work with journalists from the U.K.to combine the Guardian’s internationalist, digital journalism with American voices and expertise.”

[UPDATE] Ms. Gibson has responded to our queries. A geo-tagged automatic redirect from Guardian.co.uk will happen soon, she said, and GuardianNews.com is not a new site — The Guardian already owned the U.R.L. “It’s a new page and a new front door,” she said. As for GuardianAmerica.com, Ms. Gibson emphasized the U.R.L. was inadequate because of the internationalist ambitions of the new U.S.-based project. “We thought that was a bit excluding,” she said. “We’re not just covering America.”